Custom Screw Racks Sized to Match Accessory Box Dimensions
A purpose-built rack keeps screws at the right height and right spot next to the packaging line.
- Creator
TheAMEConnect- Improvement date
- June 16, 2024
- Company
Southwest Steel Buildings- Wastes
Screw storage in the accessory packaging area did not fit the work. Off-the-shelf racks were the wrong size and did not exist for what the team needed, so screws were stored away from the boxes they went into, causing extra walking and handling.
The team designed and built custom screw racks placed right at the accessory packaging area. The racks are the right height and sized so screw storage matches the box sizes being packed, putting the parts where the work happens.
Design the workplace to fit the task instead of forcing the task to fit generic equipment.
What is a Custom Screw Racks Sized to Match Accessory Box Dimensions?
A custom screw rack is a shelving or holding fixture built to a team's specific parts and workflow rather than bought as a generic unit. Here it stores screws at a set height and layout that mirrors the accessory boxes being packed nearby.
Because no vendor made what the packaging area needed, the team invested time and energy to design the racks themselves. The result matches storage locations to box sizes so the packer reaches the right screws for the right box without hunting or walking.
This is point-of-use storage: the material lives at the exact spot it is consumed, arranged the way the job uses it.
Why it works
The rack turns a hard-won layout decision into a permanent, visible standard that anyone can reuse.
- Matching screw slots to box sizes makes the correct part obvious and prevents picking the wrong screw.
- A fixed, right-height home for each screw type builds a repeatable standard new staff can follow.
- Locating storage at the packaging point adds value by keeping parts and work together.
- The custom design captures the team's knowledge of their own parts, something a bought rack could not.
How to create this idea
- 1List the parts and their boxes
Catalog every screw type and the accessory box it belongs to so storage can mirror the packing sequence.
- 2Check the market first
Look for an off-the-shelf rack that fits; only build custom when nothing available meets the need.
- 3Design to the work
Set rack height and slot layout to the packer's reach and to the box sizes being handled.
- 4Place it at the point of use
Position the rack inside the accessory packaging area so screws are within arm's reach of the boxes.
- 5Label by box match
Mark each screw location so the link between screw and box is unmistakable.
Best used when
- point-of-use storage
- packaging areas
- many small parts
- no off-the-shelf fit
Less useful when
- frequently changing parts
- one-off jobs
- very low volume
Tags
- Problem
- excess walkinghandling wastewrong part risk
- Lean methods
- point of use5Sworkplace design
- Application
- accessory packagingscrew storage
Captured from TheAMEConnect at Southwest Steel Buildings in the video "AME 2 Second Lean Tour: Southwest Steel Buildings", at 00:18:01. On Lean Toolbox. Watch the original video on YouTube ↗
